Abstract:

As educators we must constantly strive to provide a learning environment to develop the students of the future. Higher education institutions that closely observe evolving trends in industry will have a better understanding of what current and future employers are looking for in graduates (Sawheny, Y. 2022). In recent decades, researchers have been intrigued by the ever-increasing importance of university-industry collaboration (UIC), in particular by the factors of its success (Ćudić, et al., 2022).

Skills gaps continue to be high as the shifting demands of industry require students to embrace risk taking, innovation and agility to address jobs changes in the next five years. The top skills and skill groups which employers see as rising in prominence in the lead up to 2025 include groups such as critical thinking and analysis as well as creative problem-solving, and skills in self-management such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility (World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs 2020).

This requires the dissemination of relevant subject knowledge whilst building opportunities into the curriculum to connect with industry partners. These equally important attributes scaffold cognitive diversity and equip students to enter their professional life with relevant competencies to meet the requirements of current industry accelerated change to enable their career progression.

The paper explores the inter-disciplinary educational experience at two leading UK universities through a case study methodology, both universities embedding collaborative opportunities either to reflect current industry practice or by working on live briefs with industry. Case study one discusses a collaboration between students from the Manchester Fashion Institute and two local businesses to propose areas of business growth. Case study two, a collaboration between students from different disciplines within the School of Science & Technology and the School of Art & Design, across Nottingham Trent University to co-develop a Mobile App proposal, using industry mentors to facilitate genuine innovation, an authentic assessment, and real-world scenarios.

The shared findings indicate that students gained more strategic cross-industry knowledge, with a greater understanding of industry and collaboration, developing ‘the complex problem solving, critical and creative thinking abilities that are essential to innovation’ (Design Council, 2017:78), with an emphasis on self-critique and entrepreneurship.

The conclusion explores how collaboration as a creative teaching method has a positive impact on the student learning experience and the graduate skills gap, in addition to providing thinking space and creative solutions for the relevant industry partners.

Future research and educational practice are suggested for further development, offering an opportunity to consider how this model can be implemented into individual disciplines and curriculums.

Keywords:

Collaboration, Critical thinking, Innovation, Cognitive Diversity, Industry, Entrepreneurship.